Cody had been very eager to leave the fancy knight’s company as soon as he turned his attention, and Sariel was happy to follow him on his quest to check on Hord’anne. Maddison remained in his own space, sat upon a half-crushed bench toying with some bandages he had packed. Timber and Sajus surprisingly stayed next to him, maybe for a sense of safety in the chaos and confusion they had been thrust into. Or, his glum attitude made him the closest thing to a parent figure that they could find at the moment.

  Sariel felt the same as the two twins. Relieved, saddened by loss, and just a little bit confused at the hand life had dealt her. She had never imagined the world outside her village to move so quickly, and so strangely.

  She would lose things she loved in unexpected holes in her tunic pockets, like colourful rocks and vibrant flowers. But she had not expected people to act in the same way. The people she grew up with, friends and family, simply fluttering away in the blink of an eye.

  Once she joined Cody’s side in front of Hord’anne, she feared he was also a treasure that had tumbled from her pocket, never to be seen again.

  He was face down, arms spread wide and unmoving. The dragon’s bite had gorged deep into his back, and Sariel could not see his body rising with any breath. She felt the sorrow in her chest splash up to her eyes.

  She wished she hadn’t accepted Maddison’s trade for her helmet.

  Cody's lips pricked downwards with disappointment as he inspected the wounds, taking large steps around Hord’anne’s limbs to reach the beast’s waist. He found what he was searching for, grabbing the blade that had been strapped to Hord’anne and putting his back into tugging the weapon free.

  He patted the dirt off the weapon, his positivity only waning when he finally noticed Sariel’s puffy eyes. He froze, eyes wide while he stammered about his words in his quest to fix Sariel’s current mood. An answer jumped into his mind, and he simply blabbed it out. “Hord’anne’s gonna be okay.”

  “Maybe.” Sariel choked, trying to rub the stray tears out of her eyes and fix herself. Cody obviously hadn’t realized it yet, and she didn’t want to be the one to make him sad, but Hord’anne had certainly expired from his wounds.

  Cody awkwardly hopped over Hord’anne’s limbs to get back to Sariel, grabbing her arm reassuringly as he held up the sheathed blade. “I’m serious. He’s going to be just fine. I’ll show you.”

  Sariel watched Cody with some hope, the warlock eyeing Caleb cautiously to make sure they didn’t have an audience. The White Knight’s back remained turned to them while he was distracted with consoling Squirrel, allowing Cody to happily act incredibly suspicious. He popped the hilt of the blade, revealing a half foot of the blade beneath. It was a giant piece of rust, a once keen blade chipped and dulled. The damage was so pervasive the coppery colour had warped with what looked to Sariel like a purplish mold, webbing in veins further into the sheath.

  Cody gripped the weapon with his bare hand and squeezed, the dull weapon still drawing a trickle of blood with ease. Once the cut had bled deep enough, he unsheathed the rusted blade, stabbing it into the open wound on Hord’anne’s back.

  “I don’t think that’s helpin’ him, Cody.” Sariel sniffled, watching the fresh blood from Cody’s cut make its way down the veins of the sword.

  This trick felt different from the fiery ones he had pulled to protect Sariel and fight the dragon.

  This trick felt wrong.

  Once the blood reached Hord’anne’s wound, he ripped it clean, quickly sheathing the blade and tossing Caleb a few more cautious glances. He then knelt over the cut he had made, forcing his hand into the opening to pull something out. Sariel could not get a good eye on the procedure until Cody had finished, excitement in his eyes as he wandered over to her with his blood soaked hands cupped around something.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  He came as close as he could to Sariel, using her back as coverage from the knight’s potential gaze while he revealed the sticky mess of blood in his hands. It was moving, a purplish worm as stubby as her middle finger hovering close to the open cut on Cody’s palm. “Ta-da! It’s Hord’anne!” Cody whispered, watching the strange purple worm flail in his palms with a smile. “See? He’s waving at you.”

  Sariel cupped her hands for Cody to roll the hapless creature into them. She gasped, her breath drawing into a little coo of adoration. “Hord’anne has a baby?”

  “No no.” Cody laughed, pointing at the sword now strapped to his hip. “This is Hord’anne.” He motioned to the strange little worm now flopping like a fish in Sariel’s cupped hands. “And because swords don’t usually talk or see and all that, that’s his solution.”

  Sariel kept coddling the little creature in her hands, paying Cody a pensive stare as she tried to work through his explanation. Maddison however, very much noticing the entire spectacle appeared at Cody’s side. He tried to swipe the creature from Sariel’s palms, cut off just in time as she closed them protectively.

  “Absolutely not,” Maddison growled, holding out his open palm with ill effect as both Sariel and Cody squared defensively. “No. Cursed. Weapons.”

  “Swipe at my friend again and I’ll show you the curse of a third-degree burn.” Cody retorted.

  “Do you know what a cursed weapon can do to you?”

  Cody scoffed incredulously, “Yeah, I’m a villain, of course I know how to handle Hord’anne.”

  “Oh? Are you now?” Maddison hissed under his breath, shooting the White Knight an obvious look. “Let’s see what Caleb thinks about that.”

  “Let’s see what he thinks when I knock your helmet off on your way over.” Cody bit back, a staring contest ensuing as the two of them itched for the other to make their first move and justify a fight. Sariel felt the tense air tug at her mood again, and to Cody‘s confusion, she handed off baby Hord’anne to him and stepped between the mercenary and warlock, raising her hands high in the air.

  “Mr. Caleb, sir!” Sariel called, spurring panic in Cody and Maddison as they both turned to her in silent betrayal. The knight heeded her call, lightly jogging to make it over to them. She pulled her arms down into a fold as Cody and Maddison simply stared at her aghast, her tone irritated instead of confused. “Thought you both wanted to tell him somethin’.”

  Caleb dusted the dirt off his palms, immediately drawn to the large purple beast face down in the dirt. He crouched low to look at Hord’anne’s old corpse, letting out an impressed whistle. “I had a coworker looking for this one. He’ll be happy to know it’s dealt with.” Caleb eyed the deep gouge the dragon had left, his optimism waning. “Maybe not. But the head can still be mounted.”

  Cody discreetly dropped baby Hord’anne in his satchel, moving his hands behind his back to rub the blood off into his robes.

  The knight rose, eyeing Cody and Maddison for some sort of reason for the call. But the two looked at each other silently, each nodding their head for the other to spit out a lie. He settled his confusion on Sariel as she stepped up.

  “Need any help, sir? I’ll do a good job if the food is right.”

  “Are you all low on rations?” Caleb replied, his smile bouncing off of the glaring men, but finding a positive reaction from Sariel. “I can set you all up, no worries! But if you do have some time to spare assisting with search and rescues, I can make it worth your time.”

  Sariel stuck her hand out. “We’ll help ya, sir.”

  He accepted the shake. “Splendid! Very much appreciated, my lady.” He flicked his gaze between the other two. “What about your companions?”

  Cody’s eye twitched as he met Caleb’s stare, his words practically pushed through his teeth. “She said we, didn’t she?”

  “I’m pretty sure everyone is dead.” Maddison retorted.

  “Oh don't be so hard on yourself, we all have to start from somewhere. And look, not everyone is dead, not that lad over there!”

  The group shot their attention to where Caleb was pointing, watching Tarson maneuver three kids around the debris at the front of his house. Although distant, he stopped when he saw them, waving his hand in a manner that was unclear between a greeting and a dismissal.

  No sooner did he lower his hand than a large shadow swooped on him, Bagel taking his next victim for rescue as he screamed in the airborne beast’s hold. The children that once stood hopefully by his side scrambling in every direction to hide.